14 DAY TRIAL // The eBook format made its entry in the computer world a while ago, although the result was less than expected. It's somewhat difficult to replace the paper feeling while reading a digital book but all it takes is some good technology to switch to.
The revolutionary portable reader from Amazon, Kindle, has just been introduced and represents the result of a three-year elaboration process. One year before Kindle, Philips Electronics had an attempt at taking control over the market, but the prohibitive price tag nailed their products to the shelves - the iRex iLiad retailed for $826. This month, Sony released the PRS-500 device that sold for just $350.
Amazon tries to compensate the $50 price gap between Kindle and the Sony competition by offering a full-featured device. Kindle uses a high resolution display that enhances the black and white contrast and makes reading as comfortable as on classic paper. The absence of backlight reduces the eyestrain, but at the same time, does not allow the user to read in the absence of a light source.
The device weighs 300 grams and can store more than 200 books on its built-in memory. This is not the limit, however, as the internal memory can be supplemented at any time using a SD memory card up to 4GB. Amazon.com also backs up the purchased eBooks, so there is no problem if you decide to clear the memory for new titles.
The Amazon Kindle device operates on a new service called the Kindle Store and connects to it using Sprint EVDO (available for free to the Kindle purchasers). The Store currently offers more than 90,000 of books, newspapers, magazines and blogs, as well as the New York Times Best Sellers and New Releases, priced at $9.99.
"We wanted to go beyond the physical book. Kindle is wireless, so whether you're lying in bed or riding a train, you can think of a book, and have it in less than 60 seconds. No computer is needed -- you do your shopping directly from the device. We're excited to make Kindle available today", said Jeff Bezos, Amazon.com Founder and CEO.